Procurement Policy Office

Directive No. 67A

(Issued pursuant to section 7 of the Public Procurement Act)

Margin of Preference for Procurement of Works

1. The purpose of this Directive is to give effect to budgetary measures in respect

of the applicable margins of preference to works contracts and it supersedes Directive
No. 67.
2. A Contractor who is registered as a Small and Medium Enterprise with SME
Mauritius shall benefit from a margin of preference of 30% in bidding exercises for
works contracts above 30 million rupees.

3. A Margin of Preference for employment of local manpower shall be applicable

as follows:

(a) For International Bidding

A bidder, incorporated in the Republic of Mauritius and employing a minimum

of 80% or more of local manpower of the total man-days deployed for the
execution of a Works contract, shall be eligible for a preference of 15 %.

(b) For National Bidding

(i) A local Small and Medium Enterprise, having an annual turnover not
exceeding Rs 100M or a joint venture consisting of local Small and
Medium Enterprises having an aggregate annual turnover not exceeding
Rs 100M and employing a minimum of 80% or more of local manpower
of the total man-days deployed for the execution of a Works contract,
shall be eligible for a Margin of Preference of 20 %.

(ii) Any bidder incorporated in the Republic of Mauritius not satisfying the
conditions mentioned in (i) above but employing a minimum of 80% or
more of local manpower of the total man-days deployed for the execution
of a Works contract, shall be eligible for a Margin of Preference of 10 %.

Note: Local manpower shall mean Mauritian nationals, who are on the payroll
of the contractor as well as those of subcontractors executing works on the
site.

4. Preference Security

(a) For contracts above Rs 100M, the selected bidder having benefitted from the
application of the Margin of Preference for employment of local manpower
shall submit a preference security in the form of a bank guarantee from a local
bank.
 (b) For contracts up to Rs 100M, the public body shall, at the selected bidder’s
option, either retain money from progressive payments to constitute the
preference security or request a security in the form of a bank guarantee.

(c) The preference security shall serve as a guarantee for the contractor to fulfill
its obligation to employ a minimum of 80% or more of local manpower of the
total man-days deployed for the execution of the works.

(d) The amount for the preference security shall be the difference between the
price quoted by the selected bidder and that of the lowest evaluated bid which
would have been selected for award of contract if the said Margin of
Preference was not applicable.

(e) The preference security shall be forfeited by the public body in case of failure
on the part of the Contractor to employ at least 80 % of the local manpower
in the execution of the works. The defaulting contractor may also be liable to
debarment or disqualification under the Public Procurement Act 2006.

5. Contractor’s monitoring for employment of local manpower

The contractor, having benefitted from the Margin of Preference, shall from time
to time, as may reasonably be requested by the public body, submit reports on
the status of employment of local manpower.

At the time of works completion, as defined in the bidding document, the

contractor shall submit a certified audit report to the public body to substantiate
the actual percentage of local manpower employed throughout the execution of
the works.

6. Where a bidder is eligible for more than one margin of preference, the highest
margin shall apply.

7. Margin of Preference for Rodrigues in respect of procurement for Works

contract values up to Rs 5 million

(i) The object of the Margin of Preference for Rodrigues is to further develop
the Construction sector in Rodrigues and create employment for Rodriguans
through public procurement.

(ii) A bidder shall be eligible for a Margin of Preference of 15% during bid
evaluation stage subject to the following conditions:
(a) he is already registered under the Business Registration Act in
Rodrigues at the time of submission of bids;
(b) he possesses a valid trade license issued by the Rodrigues
Regional Assembly; and
(c) he undertakes to employ Rodriguan workers for 80% or more of
the total man-days that would be deployed for the execution of a works
contract.

(iii) In the case of a joint venture, the requirement regarding the percentage
of man-days for workers domiciled in Rodrigues should likewise be observed.
Each member of the joint venture should satisfy the conditions set out in
paragraphs (a), (b) and (c).
 (iv) Any contractor who is awarded a contract as a beneficiary of the Margin
of Preference but fails to fulfill his obligations under (ii)(c), may be liable to
debarment or disqualification.

8. This Directive takes effect as from 17 April 2024 and shall not apply to
Framework Agreements.

Procurement Policy Office

17 April 2024